


Aftermath

by xPhoenix



Series: Blót [2]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Canon Divergence - Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie), Gen, Hurt Loki (Marvel), Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 00:34:25
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25644379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xPhoenix/pseuds/xPhoenix
Summary: Loki made a deal. A deal to save his life, and the life of his brother. Now, it's time to pay up.
Series: Blót [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1858999
Comments: 3
Kudos: 15





	Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> I mentioned once that I might continue Consequences, and here it is, over two years later.

Loki opened his eyes to gray. He pushed himself up with bloodied hands, leaning against the cold stone walls, observing the scene in front of him. As his eyes refocused, he came face-to-face with the now-familiar figure of his favorite alien.

“You’re looking especially gorgeous today,” he rasped.

Ebony Maw is not easily amused. “The Master commands your presence today, you filth.”

Thanos wanted to see him? That never meant anything good. Or at least not good for Loki. What could it be this time? Perhaps more threats if he didn’t cooperate with the latest plan? Or taunts about—

“Rise and face your savior,” Maw interrupted his thought process. As always.

“Of course, of course,” Loki muttered, moving to stand.

That earned him a harsh blow to the head from the hilt of Maw’s sword. “Cut the insolence.”

Loki crumpled to his knees, a sharp pain shooting through his legs as he lost all of the progress towards standing he had just made. Taking a sharp breath, he silently pushed himself back up, never breaking eye contact with his captor. After a moment, Ebony Maw tersely nodded with narrow eyes. “Come. Follow me.”

They proceeded down the corridor, Loki hobbling behind the marching Maw. As they approached the entryway to Thanos’s throne room, Maw stopped abruptly, pushing Loki against the wall and leaning in closely.

“You will behave in there.” The _or else_ was left unspoken. Loki shuddered at the thought of facing the full brunt of Maw’s rage. All of Thanos’s henchmen were sadistic and humorless, but he was a special one. Maw didn’t believe in salvation, or killing to save the world. No, he just wanted an excuse to kill. And if that meant allying himself with a mass-murderer bent on slaughtering half the world, so be it.

Loki nodded reluctantly, bringing himself back to the present. Right, he was about to face Thanos. He couldn’t afford to be anything less than completely focused.

Of course, he never set off with the intention of pissing off Thanos–he wasn’t suicidal. Or at least he wasn’t at the moment. Either way, Thanos’s fury brought about a fate worse than death, and if Loki was good at anything, it was acting in his own self-interest.

Maw pushed open the door to the wide chamber. The faint glow of the artificial lights reflected off Thanos’s polished armor, giving the titan the spotlight in the dimly-lit room. Thanos sat tall in his throne, as always, looking to the world like a tired, but caring, monarch.

“Maw. Loki,” Thanos greeted.

Loki looked up from the ground, giving the titan his full attention. He couldn’t let anything slip by—not a single one of Thanos’s rare missteps, not a single tidbit of news of the world outside the ship. This was Loki’s game, and he was damn good at it.

“Thanos,” he greeted in return.

“How dare you speak his name,” Maw hissed, shoving Loki onto his knees.

“Easy, my son.”

Maw straightened immediately. “My apologies, my lord, I will correct this disrespectful behavior immediately.”

“Alas, you said the same thing last time, with no results,” Thanos’s attention was fully focused on his son now.

Loki watched the family drama unfold. There was a great degree of nuance in every interaction among Thanos’s lackeys. It was all a high-stakes struggle of choosing the right word, shifting all the blame onto yourself while not painting your actions in a light that proves you deserving of punishment.

No healthy bonds were ever formed by torturing your so-called “children” into obedience.

It made for intriguing entertainment.

Thanos turned back to Loki, and his reprieve was over as quickly as it had started.

“I know you are wondering why I have called you here.”  
  
Yes, he certainly was, not that he would ever admit it to Thanos. Loki continued staring blankly at the titan.

“I wish for you to observe our next miracle,” Thanos announced.

A miracle? Loki’s deadpan facade slipped for a moment. “What do you mean?”  
  
Ebony Maw push forward. “You will address him with—“  
  
Thanos cut him off. “We are approaching the planet of Kitson. They have struggled to survive for years, so I have come to bring them salvation. You will bear witness as I save them from their decline and restore the them to their former glory. And maybe then, you will finally see the beauty and righteousness of my plan.”

Oh.

Loki couldn’t stand around and watch while Thanos destroyed a planet. The whole point of his damned sacrifice was to prevent more deaths, and—

“We arrive tomorrow. Maw, I trust that you will deal with him in the meantime.”  
  
Tomorrow. So he had, at best, twenty-four hours to come up with some sort of plan.  
  
And of course, he was slightly occupied for the foreseeable future.

With that, Ebony Maw led him back down the hallway, back towards his cell.

“Now, you insolent miscreant, I am going to teach you a lesson about respect…”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
